Overview
- Enrique Riquelme, campaigning to be Real Madrid president, said on Wednesday on El Hormiguero that Erling Haaland and Rodri would be his marquee signings, held up a Haaland shirt on live TV and offered a notarial guarantee to refund members if he failed to deliver.
- Haaland’s father Alfie and agent Rafaela Pimenta issued an immediate joint denial calling the claims “entertaining but not true” and Manchester City followed with an official statement saying the reports are untrue and that it is considering legal action over the use of the player’s image.
- Multiple reports note Haaland signed a long-term contract with Manchester City through 2034 and that buyout clauses were removed in his 2025 deal, meaning any transfer would require exceptional terms and a fee City set.
- Incumbent Florentino Pérez has countered Riquelme’s stunt by promoting Jose Mourinho as his proposed coach and laying out defensive reinforcements as part of a wider summer squad overhaul if he is re-elected.
- The episode has turned the June 7 vote into a contest of high-profile promises that risk legal and reputational fallout for candidates and sharpens focus on how member voting may be swayed by headline signings rather than detailed plans.